Means for mounting ornamental wheel accessories



sept. 17; 1940. G, A, 'YQN 2,214,145

MEANS FOR MOUNTING ORNAMENTAL WHEEL ACCESSORIES G. A. LYON 2,214,745l

Accgssonrns Sept. 17. 1940 MEANS FOR MOUNTING ORNAMENT-AL WHEEL Filed Nov. 5.' 195s Jig:

.Patented Sept. 17, 1940 PATi-:Nror

Fica r Y MEANS FDR MOUNTING ORNAMENTAL WHEEL ACCESSORIES Geom Albert Lynn, Anenhum, mi'.

application Number 5, 193s, serial No. 109,251

-Cllims.

This invention relates to means for mounting which may quickly and easily be assembled,-

which will not accidently come oif due to vibration or sudden jar, and which may readily be disassembled when desired. The most desirable construction, therefore, would include a mounting means which requires very little force to assemble the ornamental member on the wheel, but which requires a relatively great force to remove the ornamental member from the wheel. Furthermore, mountingmeans of the above type preferably should be hidden from view in the assembled position of the ornamental member on the wheel.

It is' an object of this invention to provide a novel wheel assembly possessing the above highly desirable characteristics.

It is' a further object of this invention to provide a novel wheel assembly including novel means for mounting an ornamental member on a wheel which is economical to'manufacture and which isrugged and reliable in use.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel means for'mounting an ornamental wheel accessory on a wheel which rel quires only'a relatively small force to mount the accessory but which requires a relatively great frceto dismount the accessory wheel. f

Anothe object of this invention is to provide a novel means for mounting a plurality of ornamental members on `a wheel.

Another and further object of this invention is to provide novel means for mounting anornamental member on a wheel, the means being secured to the inner face of the wheel and extending through apertures in the wheel to detachably engage the ornamental member.

Another and still further object of this invention is to provide means for mounting an ornamental member on a wheel including a plurality of, leaf spring ornamental member retaining elements of a novel design which elements operate in a novel manner to detachably secure the ornamental member to the wheel.

u The novel features which I believe tobe charfrom the (or :o1-31) e aeteristic of my invention are set forth with parvticularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, however, both as in its organization 'and manner of construction, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying, drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view partly in cross section of the upper half of a wheel assembly including an ornamental member and the novel means for mounting the ornamental member on the wheel; I

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of a wheel assembly. a portion of the ornamental member being broken away to show the means for mounting the ornamental member on the wheel;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in cross section, similar tothe upper right vhand portion of Figure 1 but showing a slightly modified form of ornamental member retaining means:

Figure 4 is a side elevational view. partly in cross section, of the upper half of a' wheel assembly illustrating an ornamental member of different configuration vfrom that shown in Figure 1 but having substantially the same form of ornamental member retaining means on the wheel;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in cross l section, illustrating a different embodiment of .my invention;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view, partly in cross section, illustrating a slightly modified form of the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure l.; and .v

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but shows anovel arrangement whereby the trim ring is l temporarily heldin place during the assembling of the central ornamental member.

Referring now to Figures l and 2 of the draw- IISu ings,the wheel assembly illustrated includes a wheel I0 having a rim part Il and a body pari*l I 2. Rim II `is illustrated as being of the usual drop center type having a. base flange I3, opposite side flanges I4, opposite intermediate anges I5, and opposite edge portions IG. Body part I2 is illustrated as having 'a configuration similar to that recently adopted by many manufacturers to permit the use of a brake .drum I'I which-extends well beneath the bas'e flange I3 of rim Ii. As will 'be seen from the drawings, body part I2 includes a substantially laterally extending fiange I8,.the outer edge portion I9 of which is adapted to llt below the base flange I 3 of rim II and be secured thereto in any suitable manner, auch as by welding, riveting, or the lili/e. The central ing some suitable configuration which is pleasing to the eye and includes an unturned outer peripheral edge 28 which is adapted to bear against outer edge portion IB of rim Il, and it is also provided with an underturned inner edge portion 21 which is adapted to extend into biting engagement with the outer intermediate flange I5 of rim II. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the biting engagement made by underturned edge 21 with a portion of rim Il causes ornamental member 24 to be tightly and substantially permanently mounted on the wheel.

The novel ornamental member retaining mean which forms one of the cardinal features of the present invention will now be described. Secured to the outer face of body part I2 is a plurality of leaf spring elements formed of some suitable resilient material, such as spring steel.

Elements 28 include a tail portion 29, an intermediate or'main portion 38, and an end portion 3|. Tail portion 29 is secured to the front face of body part I2 in any suitable manner, such as by a rivet 32. The intermediate portion 38 of element 28 extends radially outwardly and slightly rearwardly as is clearly indicated in the drawings. 'I'he outer end portion 3| of each leaf spring element 28 is bent so as to form a substantial angle with the main portion 38 of element 28 for a reason which will presently be described.

As may be seen in Figure 1 of the drawings, the free end portion 3l of the leaf spring element 28 extends into aperture 33 located in laterally extending flange portion I8 of body part I2 in close proximity to the base flange I3 of rim Il.A

When spring elements 28 are in their normal unstressed position, the main body parts 38 or elements 28 lie away from laterally extending flange I8. That is, elements 28 are free to flex either toward or away from body part I2 of wheel I8. As ornamental member 23 is moved into desired position on wheel Il), elements 28 are flexed radially inwardly towards flange I8 by reason of of undert'urned edge 25 of( the camming action member 23 on the main portion 30 of element 28. This camming action continues until the high points 34 of elements 28 snap up into ornamental member retaining position behind .underturned edge 25.

It is to be observed that while elements 28 are easily flexed by a relatively slight deformation force in response vto axially inward movement of member 23, elements 28 are extremely difficult to flex in response to axially outward movement of member 23. As the underturned edge 25 starts to move axially outwardly, the only way in which elements 28 can flex to permit such movement is for the underturned tip portion 3i of element 28 to slip rearwardly and radially inwardly. That is' to say, outwardmovement of member 23 also causes inward flexing of element 28, and the force required to effect the flexing is relatively great Acornpared with that required for inward movement of member23, for in this case the free ends of elements 28 must move in a direction against the direction of the applied force. (It is, of

course, to be understood that the term against as used herein is not to be limitedto mean a direction and only 180 from the direction of the applied force, but on the other hand is used in its broader sense to mean not having any component in the same direction.)

From the above description,it will be apparent that I- have provided an extremely simple yet effective arrangement for detachably securing an ornamental member to a wheel. The novel arrangement permits the vornamental member to be mounted on the wheel by simply moving it axially inwardly against the side of the wheel. It should also be noted that with this particular arrangement, the ornamental member will be self-centered on the wheel. It will also be vobserved that while only a very slight axial pressure on the outside of the -ornamental member is necessary to snap it into yretaining engagement with the springs carried on the wheel (in fact, it has been found inpractic'e that an ornamental member of the character described may be mounted by simply pressing on it with one or two fingers), a relatively great force is necessary to dismount the ornamental member from the wheel. One

convenient method for dismounting thej orna` mental member from the wheel is to insert the relatively sharp edge of a pry-off tool between the outer marginal extremity of ornamental member 23 and the intermediate side flange I4 of rim Il and then give the tool a sharp jerk.

In Figure 3 of the drawings, a slightly modified form of spring element is illustrated which requires a slightly greater force to remove the ornamental member than that required for the spring construction just described. In this modified form, the wheel construction and the formv of ornamental members are identical to that of the preferred embodiment and therefore have been given the same reference numerals. The leaf spring elements 28, however, have underturned lips 35 at their extreme free ends which are adapted to engage the under surface 36 of ange I8. This construction permits elements 28 to be stressed in their normal position. That is to say, the spring elements 28 may be stressed so that they tend to move outwardly but are restrained' from such movement by lips 35. As will be ap. parent to those skilled in the art, this stressing of elements 28 in their normal position increases the amount of the deformation force necessary to flex elements 28 both by the inward movement of member 23 and by the outward movement thereof. That is to say, since elements 28 ex inwardly not only during the mounting operation but also during the dismounting of the ornamental member from the wheel, it is obvious that the stressing of elements 28 whichtends to havel them move loutwardly increases the amountiofr force necessary to flex them inwardly. In this slightly modified arrangement of vthe lpreferred embodiment of my invention, the ornamental member is assembled and disassembled in precisely the same way as previously vdescribed in connection with Figures 1 and 2.

In Figure 4 of the drawings, spring elements similar to those described in the preferred embodiment of the invention are shown, but they cooperate with a different form of ornamental member. The configuration of the wheel nave or body part is also slightly different. Those elements of the wheel assembly which are similar to those previously described and illustrated will ferring now to the drawings, a 'slngleornamental member 31 has been substituted for the two ornamentai'members 23 and 24 shown in Figures 1 and 2. Ornamental member 31 includes a circle dome portion 38, and an `outer integral ring portion 38. An annular intermediate rentrant groove 48 isfformed'in member 31 for the dual.

purpose of providing a radially inwardly extending flange and of providing a suitable groove in which a pry-ofi tool may beinserted to remove the ornamental member 31 from its mounted position on wheel III. As will be observed from the drawing, the intermediate rentrant groove or liange 40 acts in the wheel assembly combination in substantially vthe same way and for the same purpose as the underturned marginal edge .25 of the preferred embodiment does. Ornamental member ,31 is mounted on and dismounted from wheel III in the same manner` as ornamental member 23 is mounted on the wheel illustrated in Figure 1. A

In Figure 5 of the drawings, a diii'erent modification of this invention is shown. In this wheel assembly combination, the wheel rim and the ornamental members adapted for disposition on the outer sideof the wheel are the same as described in Figure 1, but the wheel body parts and the leaf spring ornamental member retaining elements are slightly different. Those elements which are substantially identical to corresponding elements in Figure 1 have been given the same reference numerals for purposes of clarity. In this arrangement the substantially laterally vextendingl flange I8 of the wheel body part I2 is provided with two series of apertures 33 and 4Il respectively instead of the single series. of aver-- tures as previously described. In this arrangement the tail portions 28 of-/spring elements 28 extend down through the outer series of apertures 4I into engagement with the inner surface ofy wheel body part I2. Tail portions 28 of elements 28 are secured to the body part I2 of wheel III in any suitable manner, such as by means of rivets 32. The main body portions 38 of elements I28 extend radially outwardly and` rearwardly, and the tips or end portions 3| of elements 28 extend rearwardly and radially inwardly through apertures 33.` As will be readily understood, this Vdisposition of the tail pieces 28 of elements 28 along the innerv surface of body part I2 renders the ex-l terior appearance oi-v the wheel more pleasing when the ornamental member 23 has been removed from the wheel. The various elements of the wheel assembly combination cooperate incubstantially the same way in the mounting and dismountingvof ornamental member 23 of this modincation.

In Figure 6 of the drawings, an arrangement quite similar to the-preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure v-1 of the drawings is shown. Those elements in Figure 6 which are identical with corresponding elements in Figure 1 have been given the same reference numerals for l purposes of clarity. In this arrangement, however, the ornamental trim ring 42 is secured in place by means "of the same spring elements 28 wh-ich secure the ornamental member 23 in place.v Trim ring 42 may be given any configuration which is pleasing to the teye but preferably is of "the coniiguration indicated in the drawings.

The outer marginal edge 43 of trim ring 42 is underturned and adaptedl for disposition against I. the outer edge portion I8 of rim II. The inner marginal edge 44 of trim ring 42 is outwardly turned and adapted to rest in intimate contact the same reference numerals.

position on the wheel also retains ornamental trim ring 42 in desired position by reason of the fact that the outer turned inner marginaledge 44 of trim ring 42V lies vbetween side flange I4 of rim II and. the curled outer edge 25 of ornamental member 23. Ornamental member retaining elements 28 function in the combination in precisely the same manner as that describedin connection with the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 and 2vof the drawings. To assemble ornamental trim ring 42 in ornamental member 23 on wheel I0. the ornamental trim ring 42 is disposed `in desired position against the outer side of rim I I, and the ornamental member 2 3 is snapped over elements 28 against the outer turned inner marginal edge 84 of ornamental trim ring .42.' As ornamental member V23 is moved into desired position, elements 28 snap up behind under turned edge 25 into retaining engagement therewith. To dismount the ornamental members from the wheel. a much greater force is necessary, and hence, the members may be conveniently removed by any suitable Dry-oil tool.

In Figure 7 of the drawings, an arrangement somewhat similar to that shown in Figure 6 is illustrated, but in this instance provision lis made for temporarily supporting the ornamental trim ring in desired position attending the assembly n .ofthe central ornamental member in position on' the wheel. For purposes of clarity, those elements which are substantially the same as corresponding elements in Figure 6 have been given Referring now to the drawings, it will be noted that the outwardly bent inner marginal edge 44 of trim ring 42 is provided with a reverse curve at its extreme end as at 45.' The reverse curve portion 45 is adapted to engage the end portions 3I of leaf spring elee ments 28 prior to the time when the ornamental member 23 is moved into position on the wheel. 'I'he cooperation of the spring elements 28 with the reverse curve portion 45 of trim ring 42 at a time prior tothe assembling of ornamental mem-` ber 23 on wheel I8 is clearly indicated by the dotted line in the drawings. As ornamental member 23 is moved into desired position on wheel I8,'the curled buteredge 25 rides over the spring element 28l as previouslydescribed and nests against the curved portion 44 of trim ring 42. It

will be noted-that when ornamental member 23 is in this position, the-reverse curved portion 45 of trim ring 42 does not rest in contact with the end portion 3I .of element 2'8, this being necessary in order to insure the' application\ pressure through the curved portion 25 and then through curved portion 44 of trim ring 42 to side ilange I4 of rim II. i

From the above description, it will be seen that I have provided an extraordinarily simple and yet effective means for mounting ornamental mem# bers on Wheels.` 'I'he novel means includes the highly desirable characteristic which requires only a slight deformation forceto assemble the ornamental member or members on the wheel but which requires a relatively great force to dismount the member or members from th'e wheel.

While I have shown particular embodiments of my invention, it will of course be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, since many modifications may be made', and I,- therefore, conof the -spring outwardly through said apertures leaving free end portions on the exterior side of said wheel, said free end portions being shaped to extend obliquely radially outwardly and axially rearwardly and terminating in an obliquely radially inwardly bent tip which engages said flange at a point axially rearwardly of the plane of attachment of said elements to said wheel, thereby to detachably retain said ornamental member on said wheel.

2. The combination comprising a wheel having an intermediate annular series of apertures, an ornamental member for disposition on the outer side of said wheel, said member having a radially inwardly extending annular flange portion, and a plurality'of leaf spring ornamental member retaining elements each secured at one end to the inner side of said wheel and extending radially outwardly through said apertures leaving free end portions on 4the exterior side of said wheel, said free end portions being shaped to extend obliquely radially outwardly and axially rearwardly and terminating ln a tip portion which is bent to form a flange engaging surface which lies substantially on the surface of an imaginary cone whose apex is axially inwardly of the plane of the wheel.

3. The combination comprising a wheel, an ornamental member for disposition on the outer side of said wheel having an underturned marginal edge, and a plurality ofy resilient leaf ornamental member retaining elements each secured to said wheel on the inboard side thereof, said wheel having an annular series of apertures therein through which said retaining elements extend in aA substantially radial direction, each of said retaining elements being shaped and disposed to extend obliquely axially inwardly and radially outwardly of their point of attachment to the wheel, land each element being bent at its free end to form a cam surface at a substantial angle to the direction of normal extension, said cam surface being adapted to engage said underturned edge to retainsaid ornamental member in desired position on said wheel.

4. The combination comprising a wheel, an y ornamental member for disposition on the outer side of said wheel, and a plurality of resilient attaching elements each secured at one end to the inboard side of said wheel, said wheel having an annular series of apertures through which said spring elements extend to the outboard side of said wheel, the portion of each of said elements 1ying on the outboard side of said wheel being bent obliquely axially rearwardly and radially outwardly and terminating in a bent tip portion extending obliquely axially rearwardly and radially inwardly, said bent tip portion being disposed to engage said ornamental member and retain said member in desired position on said wheel.

5. The combination comprising a wheel, an ornamental member for disposition on the outer side of said wheel, and a plurality of resilient attaching elements each secured at one end to the inboard side of said wheel, said wheel having an annular series of apertures .through which said spring elements extend to the outboard side of said wheel, the portion of each of said elements lying on the outboard side of said wheel being bent obliquely axially rearwardly and radially outwardly and terminating in a bent tip portion extending obliquely axially rearwardly and radially inwardly, said bent tip portionbeing disposed to engage said ornamental member and retain said member in desired position on said wheel, said wheel having a second annular series of apertures opposite the end of said bent tip portion of -said spring element into which said bent tip portion extends.

f,(ErEOl'tGrE ALBERT LYON. 

